Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah exchange missile strikes: world on brink of new major war
On the morning of September 22, Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel, some of which fell near the city of Haifa. At the same time, Israel launched hundreds of strikes into Lebanon. Hezbollah's leader said that the "endless battle" had already begun. Both sides appeared to be heading toward a major war, writes Associated Press.
Photo: Sadık Güleç | Dreamstime.com
The overnight rocket barrage was in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon that killed dozens, including a veteran Hezbollah commander, and an unprecedented attack targeting the group's communications devices. Air raid sirens blared across northern Israel, sending hundreds of thousands of people scrambling for shelter.
One rocket hit near a residential building in Kiryat Bialik, a city near Haifa, injuring at least three people. The impact set buildings and cars on fire. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said four people were injured.
Avi Wazana ran to a shelter with his wife and 9-month-old baby and heard the explosion. He then went back outside to see if anyone was hurt.
"I ran without shoes, without a shirt, in just trousers. The house was burning, I was trying to find other people," he said.
Lebanon's Health Ministry said Israeli strikes near the border had killed three people and wounded four, but did not say whether they were civilians or combatants.
On the subject: The International Court of Justice calls on Israel to prevent genocide in the Gaza Strip
Hezbollah responds to unprecedented strikes
The rocket attacks followed an Israeli airstrike on September 20 in Beirut that killed at least 45 people, including Ibrahim Aqil, a senior Hezbollah leader, several fighters, as well as women and children.
Hezbollah has recovered from the attack that blew up thousands of pagers and radios. But the group is struggling to balance retaliatory strikes with avoiding large-scale attacks on civilian areas and Israeli infrastructure that could trigger a full-scale war.
Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem believes the September 22 rocket attack was just the beginning of what is now an "open-ended battle" with Israel.
"We admit that we are hurt. We are human beings. But you will be hurt, too," Qassem said at Aqil's funeral. He vowed that Hezbollah would continue military operations against Israel in support of Gaza, but also warned of surprise attacks "from outside," pointing to rockets fired deep into Israel.
Late on September 22, Hezbollah announced a series of attacks on military targets in northern Israel, using rockets and artillery. It is not yet clear whether there are casualties or damage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would take all necessary steps to restore security in the north and allow people to return to their homes.
"No country can accept senseless missile attacks on its cities. We cannot accept this either," he stressed.
On Sunday, September 22, another funeral was held for those killed in the airstrike. Seven people, including three women and two children, were buried in the southern Lebanese town of Mays al-Jabal, where Christian Lebanese lawmaker Melhem Khalaf remarked that Israel “relies on the law of the jungle rather than international conventions, especially when it comes to protecting civilians.”
White House National Security Advisor John Kirby told ABC's This Week that the US is trying to resolve the conflict diplomatically: "We continue to do everything we can to prevent this from escalating into a full-scale war."
Israel Says It Prevented Even Larger Hezbollah Attack
The Israeli military says it has struck 22 militant sites, including rocket launchers, across southern Lebanon since Sept. 400, preventing a larger attack that could have harmed hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The Israeli military says it has intercepted several aerial devices fired from Iraq after Iran-backed militant groups claimed to have carried out drone attacks on Israel.
Schools were cancelled in northern Israel, and the Health Ministry assured that all hospitals in the north would move surgeries to secure areas in medical centers.
Separately, Israeli forces raided the West Bank offices of the Al Jazeera news agency, which is banned in Israel and accused of serving as a mouthpiece for militant groups.
UN official says region on brink of disaster
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since the Gaza war began nearly a year ago, when the militant group began firing rockets in solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. The fighting has killed dozens in Israel, killed hundreds in Lebanon and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border.
Until recently, neither side was seen as seeking all-out war, and Hezbollah had so far refrained from attacking Tel Aviv or major civilian infrastructure. But in recent weeks, Israel has shifted its focus from Gaza to Lebanon, and Hezbollah has said it will stop its attacks only if the war in Gaza ends, as a ceasefire there appears increasingly uncertain.
The war in Gaza began with an Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel in which Palestinian militants killed about 1200 people and took nearly 250 hostage. They are still holding about 100 captives, a third of whom are believed to have died. More than 41 Palestinians have died, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It did not specify how many were fighters, but said women and children made up more than half of the dead.
"With the region on the brink of imminent catastrophe, there is no military solution that will make life safer for both sides," said Janine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN special representative for Lebanon, on social media.
Families of Israeli hostages and Gaza residents have expressed fears that the fighting in Lebanon will distract international attention from their own plight.
"I am incredibly concerned about the increased tensions between Israel and Hezbollah because all the attention of the public and the world" will be diverted to it, said Udi Goren, a relative of Tal Haimi, the Israeli killed on Oct. 7.
Similar concerns were expressed by Palestinian refugee Enas Kollab, who fled Gaza. “We are afraid that the situation in Lebanon will affect us: all the attention will be on Lebanon and we will be forgotten,” she suggested.
Hezbollah Claims New Weapons
Hezbollah said it launched dozens of Fadi 1 and Fadi 2 rockets (a new weapon the group has not used before) at the Ramat David airbase southeast of Haifa "in response to repeated Israeli attacks targeting various regions of Lebanon, which have resulted in the deaths of many civilian martyrs."
In July, the group released what it said was a video taken at the base using reconnaissance drones.
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Hezbollah said it struck the Haifa-based defense firm Rafael in retaliation for an attack on wireless devices. The group has provided no evidence for this claim, and the Israeli military has declined to comment.
Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for a wave of bombings that targeted pagers and radios belonging to its members on Sept. 17 and 18, killing at least 37 people, including two children. About 3 were injured. Israel was blamed for the attacks, but has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
An Israeli airstrike on Sept. 20 destroyed an eight-story building in a densely populated suburb of Beirut. Hezbollah members were meeting in the basement, Israel said. Among those killed was Akil, a Hezbollah special forces unit commander.
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